A life changing experience

I have just come back from Volunteering at San Nicolas during September 2008 and can definitely say that it has been a life changing experience.

Since it was the first time I had ever volunteered I didn't know what to expect and wondered if the children would be a little hesitant at first with new volunteers. How wrong I was....and what a wonderful experience my first day was (and ever subsequent day!) Every single child came up to hug, kiss and greet us when we arrived and every single child did the same when we left. Then some of them simply took me by the hand and led me to choose a puzzle with them... and from then on it was like being one of the family.

With every new activity that was planned they were enthusiastic and grateful -we made masks, finger puppets and also tried our hand at cooking. My lifelong memories will be of how loving and patient the children are towards each other and to the volunteers. I will also always remember also how they painstakingly pack away every puzzle or game that they use and take it back to it's correct place in the cupboard.

How lucky I have been to spend time with them, Luisa and all the volunteers!

When I left they told me I would always be in their hearts -they will all definitely always be in mine!

See-Saw - Suba-Baja

Finally I can now post the pictures I took of the new see-saw that Manon, Avalon and I gave to the children. Unfortunately, Manon and Avalon didn't get to see the finished product so hopefully they will be pleased. I'm now back in Scotland and I'm missing the kids so much!

¡Por fin, puedo cargar las fotos que saqué de la nuevo suba-baja que Manon, Avalon y yo compramos para los niños!. Desfortunatamente, Manon y Avalon se fueron antes de ver la suba-baja completa entonces con suerte la se gustarán. ¡Ya he vuelto a Escocia y echo de menos los niños muchisimo!

Our time at San Nicolas by Avalon & Manon

We’ve been on San Nicolas Urraca for 4 weeks and it was a great experience!

We started at the 21th of July and our final day will be tomorrow.
The last few weeks were great. Everyday when we came in, the kids gave us a kiss and a big hug, so cute! Luisa is great as well. She is always very friendly to her volunteers.
We played a lot with the kids and helped them with their homework.
We’ve collected some money in Holland and we spend it on the project. We bought a washing machine, a copy machine and together with Kathy we bought a see-saw. We hope that they will have a lot of profit of it.
As Kathy already told, we have done a lot of activities with the children, during their holiday. It is so nice to see how happy the children are with something that is actually quite normal for us.
This week we had a normal day at Monday. We just played and helped the kids with their homework. On Tuesday we went to the park, we wanted to go last week.
It was really fun! The kids enjoyed it very much and so did we!
Again there died a woman in the community, so it wasn’t possible to get in the hall today. So we went to another small park. We played football. We, against the boys and we did quite well actually! We played with a Frisbee as well. It was a really cool day again.
So tomorrow will be our last day and we are going to miss this project so much! All the lovely kids and off course Luisa.

New volunteers: good luck, but you will definitely enjoy your time at San Nicolas Urraca!!

Avalon Veldstra and Manon de Koning

Vacaciones!

The kids this past week have been on their holidays, so we, the volunteers, decided to arrange an array of activities for them to enjoy and also to cheer them up after Gaëlle, Olivier, and Elodie's departure (who, by the way, have done an AMAZING job on this website and deserve a huge San Nicolas style "GRACIAAAAAAS'').

En la semana que pasada los chicos habían estado de vacaciones entonces nosotros, los voluntarios, decidieron a arreglar una selección de actividades para divitirse y también animarse los niños despues de la departura de Gaëlle, Olivier y Elodie ("gracias" a ellos tenemos este sitio de web maravilloso).

Monday
On Monday, sadly, a lady in the community had died and the hall was being used as a wake, so we had to change our plan to make masks as we just didn't have the space or resources. So we decided to change to Friday's activity: the park. The kids were thrilled so we set off only to discover that the park was closed on a Monday. So we headed to another park which we though might be open but unfortunately that too was closed. However, the kids took it on the chin and our quick-thinking Dutch volunteers, Manon and Evolon, bought the kids icecreams which was a nice treat to end the day.

Tuesday
On Tuesday we had a but more luck and went to the zoo which, thankfully, was open. The kids ran all over the place, screaming with excitement. We witnessed all sorts; a puma fight, some slightly over-affectionate bears and a box full of turtles! By the end of the visit the children were thoughroughly worn out and we got the bus back to San Nicolas.

Wednesday
Wednesday we had a sligthly more relaxing visit to a cinema, owned by a very nice Danish lady who kindly oblidged to have 20 children into her filmhouse. We walked along Avenida de Sol until we got to Plaza de Armas and all the kids behaved impeccably on the walk. We arrived and gave the kids 5 options of films to which the reply was "KUNG FU PANDA!", which was, although I hate to admit it, a very funny film. We bought the kids cola and popcorn just to add to the authentic cinema experience. Afterwards it was pouring with rain so we decided to abort our plan to walk home and catch some taxis. When we arrived back the kids were practising their kung-fu moves, which was adorable!

Thursday
Unfortunately, because I got a bit soaked trying to hail a taxi on Wednesday, I was ill on Thursday. However, the school was very lucky to have Stéphane, a French history teacher, as a volunteer who gave a talk on French and Dutch culture and history, which I hear the children absolutely loved (or maybe they just love Stéphane!).

Friday
Today we had rearranged our mask making which really surpassed all my expectations. The kids are so inventive and artistic and they really thought outside the box when it came to mask making. Naturally all the masks were beautiful and I was so proud of the kids! Then we had a goodbye ceremony for Stefan which was really nice. The kids had put together dances, songs and skits which I think Stefan really enjoyed - he even joined in at one point! Then we all had some Inka Kola and biscuits, and then gave a sad goodbye.

Well done kids! Goodbye Stéphane!!

Lots of Love,
Katy xx

The creation of a facebook group

It is with great pleasure that we announce you that a facebook group has been created : San Nicolas Urraca.

You will find a short summary of the association, its activities, as well as pictures taken by previous volunteers.
You will also be able to invite all your friends or contacts to join this group. We hope that this new communication support will be of great help for the project, especially in recruiting new volunteers or visitors. If you help us with a little "word of mouth", the association will probably benefit from a larger support, even worldwide !!!

Concerning the previous volunteers, feel free to upload photos, post a comment or your past experience !
Do not forget that you can have your 15 minutes of fame : send us a picture and a small paragraph about your experience in Peru and in the association San Nicolas Urraca and we will post it for you on the blog !

We are counting on you !

How to help us?

By 5 years time starting today 22nd of July, we will need to have gathered 45,000 U.S $ to buy our own place where kids will be able to continue to receive all the support, attention and love that we give and that YOU can also give… if you decide to come to visit us.
Currently, we occupy a place owned by the district (‘el salon comunal del pueblo’), which allows us to use it on the condition that we will make some improvements in the infrastructure, improvements which will benefit to the citizens of the district when we leave in 5 years.
This means that without your help (you just need to give what you can to help us), San Nicolas Urraca will be back on the streets again, just like where it started 5 years ago, to take care of the kids.

Current volunteers and potential ones, we are confident that with your compassionate hearts we will manage to get a new place of our own for the children who need so much of our help; and we also need you to give a little love to children who often lack attention from their parents.
Every year, we help a lot of children so that they can go to school: we pay the tuition fees, buy the uniforms and all the materials needed to study but the saddest part is being able to afford to send a kid to school for a whole year without knowing for sure if we can do likewise the following year.
With your help, we can make sure that kids will succeed at school (instead of quitting) and, by this means, be sure that they will have more opportunities to face life in a better way.

We are also very concerned about the nutrition of the children who, as they are underprivileged, are hardly able to eat twice a day and usually the meals are limited in quantity.
At the moment, we manage to provide the kids with 2 snacks a week but we would very much like to be able to offer them every day nutritional snacks that provide them with all the energy they need to study and just to be a normal happy kid.
´Hunger is terrible… but if it concerns a kid… it is dramatic´.

If you decide to come visit us, you can bring games, clothes, medication that your friends or relatives do not need anymore… here at San Nicolas Urraca… everything is appreciated… and we guarantee you that everything will be efficiently distributed. We have a lot of problems regarding undernutrition of the children; therefore, vitamins are needed as well.
We also have to deal frequently with pulmonary infection, skin problems or other intestinal infections.

To come and volunteer with us, you do not need to have special skills. The most important is that you are willing to help us by playing with the children, helping them with their homework because their parents cannot do it as a lot of them do not know how to read or write. You can organize manual activities like painting (etc.) or even cook if you would like to provide for the children.

If you want to make a donation, you can email us (sannicolasurraca@gmail.com) and we will give you all the bank account details.

We guarantee you that you will enjoy once in a life time experience.

Luisa, founder and full time volunteer of the association

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En 5 años computados a partir de esta fecha 22 de Julio, necesitamos reunir 45 mil dólares americanos para la compra del local propio donde nuestros niños continuaron recibiendo todo el apoyo, atención y amor que damos y que tú también puedes dar… si decides visitarnos.
Actualmente estamos trabajando en el local político del pueblo (salón comunal) quienes nos permiten el uso de su local con la condición de mejorar la infraestructura del mismo, la cual quedará en beneficio de los pobladores al finalizar la concesión del local en 5 años.
Es decir en 5 años, San Nicolas Urraca volverá a trabajar en las calles con sus niños, si tú no pones un granito de arna para ayudarnos. Estamos seguros que con el buen corazón de todos ustedes, los voluntarios, podemos lograr un hogar sustituto para estos niños que tanto nos necesitan y te necesitan también para darles un poquito de ese amor que muchos de sus padres no quieres darles.
Cada año ayudamos a muchos niños para que sigan estudiando, pagando las inscripciones a las escuelas, comprando uniformes y materiales para la escuela pero lo triste es cubrir un año con la preocupación de no saber si podremos seguir ayudando para el próximo año. Con tu ayuda podemos lograr que los niños puedan terminar de estudiar y de esa manera tener más oportunidades de enfrentar sus vidas de mejor manera.

Nos interesa mucho también la parte nutricional de los niños quienes por la pobreza en que viven pueden lograr llevarse a penas 2 alimentos al día pero de manera muy limitada. Brindamos 2 refrigerios semanales ahora pero nos gustaría mucho ofrecer almuerzos nutritivos que garanticen el mejor rendimiento escolar y les de energías para ser niños con toda la vitalidad necesaria de un niño feliz.
‘El hambre es terrible… pero si lo tiene un niño… es dramático’.

Si decides visitarnos puedes traer juegos, ropa, medicinas que tal vez tus amigos ya no necesitan… acá en San Nicolas Urraca…todo es necesario…y te aseguramos que todo será correctamente distribuido…
Tenemos muchos problemas de desnutrición infantil por lo que las vitaminas son necesarias.
Los problemas de la piel, infecciones respiratorias y estomacales se presentan con frecuencia.

No es necesario que tengas una habilidad especial, lo importante es que quieres trabajar jugando, ayudando en tareas porque los padres no pueden hacerlo porque muchos de ellos no saben escribir ni leer. Puedes organizar talleres en pintura, manualidades, etc. o simplemente cocinar si te gusta para compartirlo.

Si desea hacer alguna donación, no duda en preguntarnos via un correo electrónico (sannicolasurraca@gmail.com) los datos bancarios de nuestra cuenta.


Te aseguro que tendrás una experiencia que no olvidarás.

Luisa, fundadora y voluntaria permanente en San Nicolas Urraca

About Cusco & Peru

If you want to discover the Inka Empire, Cusco is the right place. Cusco is high up in the mountains (more than 3,000 meters); you will definitely fall in love with the landscape, its cobblestones streets and artcraft.
To visit the Sacred Valley and all the important Inka sites, you can buy the ‘Boleto Turístico’ (70 soles for students/present an International Student ID Card-ISIC) and have access to a great amount of cultural, archaeological and historical places during 10 days.
Here is a non exhaustive list of place you can visit in many ways (horse riding, trekking, organized tour, etc) :
- the Machu Picchu, one of the new 7 wonders of the world
- the Inca ruins around Cusco: Saqsayhuaman, Quenqo, Pucapucara and Tambomachay.
- 'El Valle Sagrado’: Pisac, Urubamba, Ollantaytambo and Chinchero
- Moray and Salinas
- Choquequiraw
... A lot more !

Moreover, Cusco is a great place to start travelling around the whole country. Lots of agencies offer to organize your trip - according to your schedule - (check before the prices and offers in a few agencies and negotiate the price; make sure every service included in your travel package, like a profesional guide or pick up from your hotel, is being written in your voucher). But, you can easily plan it yourself:
- Puno, Titicaca lake and its islands (Taquile, Uros and Amantani)
- Arequipa
- Nazca (famous for the Nazca mysterious lines)
- Chachapoyas
- Amazonia
Etc.

Cusco is ‘lively’, not only talking about nightlife but also about all the different kinds of food you can eat (Peruvian, Italian, French, Chinese…) and all the places you can visit by walk inside the city: Plaza de Armas and its cathedral, Qorikancha, various museums (Museo Inka, etc.)…

A FEW TIPS :

Normally, you should not pay more than 3 Soles for a taxi (for the airport, it is around 6 soles); always ask for the price before going into the car (and prefer the taxis with a yellow and black logo sign).

If you want to relax, feel free to enjoy all what Cusco has to offer: massage, spa, manicure, etc. But do not expect the Western standard.

About your hostel or hotel, you can book it in advance (just like your trekking for the Machu Picchu) and negotiate a discount if you are staying quite a long time. Always check before making your reservation that the hotel has hot water and a heating system, especially if you plan to stay at a cheap hostel.
You should know that booking a hostel in San Blas (a nice and cheerful quarter) means that you are going to walk up the hill everyday (you might find it hard during the first few days due to the altitude).
Do not drink tap water and bring with you some medication; also check in advance all the vaccines you might need (if you plan to do a ‘jungle trip’ you will have more vaccines to do). If you suffer from a headache due to the altitude, do not hesitate to drink the local ‘maté de coca’.

Cusco is not a dangerous place (like Lima) but always keep your money in a safe place. You can bring cash (dollars or euros) and travellers checks, you will be able to change them easily downtown (check the change rates with a few agencies) instead of paying a high fee every time you withdraw cash with your credit card.

Here are a few places the previous volunteers liked to go to:

LOS PERROS $$ (around 20 soles)
Calle Tecsecocha (at the intersection with Calle Tigre)
This Australian wine couch bar is nice if you want to enjoy a great juice or try one of their enormous sandwiches. They also offer ethnic food. For big groups, do not forget to book!

JUANITO’S $
Calle Carmen Alto, 227 (San Blas)
If you are in a hurry or want to enjoy a homemade sandwich, ask one of the cookers to make one for you! You can choose all the ingredients and eat it there or take it away.

MACONDO – Food and Art $$
Cuesta de San Blas, 571 (at the intersection with Tocuyeros)
You feel like eating a homemade soup in a sophisticated place? Here it is! The place is full of artworks (for sale) and the service is great.

LA CAVERNE DEL ORIENTE $
Plaza San Blas (right down the stairs)
If you like French food, you will definitely end up eating in San Blas in this small quite affordable restaurant. Try the ‘Salade de chèvre chaud’ as an entrance (quite big, share it!) and the ‘Ratatouille’ on a bed of quinoa as main course. Try to go early because the owner does not seem to open really late.

LA BODEGA DEL WAIKY $
Calle Carmen Alto, 146 (San Blas)
A very neat and quite place in which you can enjoy a romantic dinner. The service is perfect and you will be able to try all varieties of food (Peruvian, Italian, etc). We recommend the menu (a small appetizer, a soup and a main course).

AMARU $
Plateros 325
This restaurant near Plaza de Armas offers the best breakfast in town with the bonus of enjoying the sun if you are sitting on the balconies! The menu offers quite a variety! Our favourite is the ‘Panqueque’ (normally 11 soles): fresh bread with homemade marmelade, fruit salad, panqueque/crêpes with honey or chocolate. The service is absolutely perfect and you will probably benefit from free refill of tea/maté/coffee and your fruit juice.

MUNDO HEMP $$ (desserts: 10 soles and more; usually more than 20 soles to eat)
Calle Carmen Alto
This small place feels like home! We recommend you to enjoy a nice break inside or in the charming patio, reading your favorite book or borrowing one (from the shelf inside the room). They usually serve enormous pieces of apple crumble or other homemade pastries, like lemon tart or chocolate brownie; you can also share the tea because they are quite generous!

Bar EL NOMADE $
Calle Choquechaka
If you want to hang out in a cosy place, then you’d better have a drink at El Nomade. The friendly atmosphere will relax you and if you get lucky, you might end up listening to a small local group playing music and heating up the place! (they usually give you a flyer of the weekly program down the street)

NORTON’S PUB $
Loreto 115 (Plaza de Armas)
A typical pub where you can stand next to the bar and enjoy a drink (famous cocktails or the local Pisco Sour). They also have some of the best hamburgers in town !

RUNTUS $
Choquechaka 152
Come early and enjoy the happy hour offer while the band is rehearsing. Later, the bar is packed and you will feel like attending a rock concert.

MYTHOLOGY
Portal de Carnes 298 (Plaza de Armas)
Clubbing in Cusco is a must if you are willing to stay up all night long. In this club, the music will keep you awake till morning. The place is basically full of tourists just like you. Do not forget to grab a few tickets around Plaza de Armas to have free drinks inside. Salsa classes are also given before 11pm (check the day and time).

The volunteers' experiences

To give you the motivation and desire to come and give a little time to San Nicolas Urraca's children, here are a few testimonies of previous volunteers.

Sarah (France) says:

When I volunteered for the first time at San Nicolas for one month, it was four years ago and it was probably one of the most amazing experience of my life. At the time, the association only had a small local with no electricity or bathroom. There was practically no equipment, very few games and the road was in construction. Regardless of the hard conditions more than twenty kids were showing up each day and we always spent a great time together. We would help them with their homeworks, sing songs, do games! The kids are so cute, so loveable and despite tough conditions at home they are always so happy and smiling.
Recently I visited San Nicolas again for two weeks and I was so amazed at how the association had grown and improved for the very best. The local is more than six times bigger then the old one, there are nice tables, light, a bathroom, games and even a radio! Luisa, the director of the association, along with Ana, a permanent volunteer, are really amazing women. They have been dedicating their time and their heart to the project since its beginning and it is really paying off!

Elodie (France) says :

I have always been amazed by the kids’ capacity to love, hug, trust, forgive or even cheer up…in a sense the way they see "la vie en rose".
Here at San Nicolas Urraca, not only are the kids willing to learn but also to give: they are just looking for a way to enlighten their and your day. Volunteering in Peru, in San Nicolas Urraca, has been one of my greatest memories: it was both a cultural and human experience. You discover a new style of living, visit the Sacred Valley, get touched by the kindness of people and see the association grow thanks to your involvement.
So just come, by yourself or with friends, and give it a try!

Gaëlle & Olivier (France) say :

When we arrived in Peru, we did not have a lot of experience with kids. Luisa, Anna and José warmly welcomed us and reassured us; they told us the story of the association, how it started and how it is evolving.
Kids were really looking forward to receiving a little help with their homework, playing or just catching the attention. No need to speak Spanish fluently, there is no cultural or linguistic barrier. Everyone can participate in the project according to his desire or abilities, budget. Some only choose to visit once but bring, for instance, a chocolate bar to each kid, which is always being received with great joy.Concerning us, we decided to buy school material and distribute it to the children who needed it the most. For people like us who are found of travelling and knowing the culture in depth, this experience has totally fulfilled our expectations.

Lila (USA) says :

Hi my name is Lila and I'm 10 years old. When I went to Peru me and my family did many things but one of my highlights was working at San Nicolas Urraca. The kids were so friendly and I really enjoyed working with them.
The minute I walked in the door kids came up to me and kissed my cheeks. Even a couple of them started asking me in Spanish if I wanted to jump rope with them. Of course I was thrilled and said yes right away. We also played jacks. I'm terrible at it and they're really good. I began to see that every day I became more like a friend to the kids then just a volunteer. I helped the little ones with puzzles and sometimes I just sat and talked with the older ones. When it was time to leave I was super sad. I really encourage anyone and everyone to volunteer at San Nicolas Urraca. It's absolutly wonderful.

About the Association

A little History…

The charity was legally founded March 3rd, 2004 by a local lady named Luisa Rodriguez Gamarra. Luisa was able to start of the project when she found an initial local in her district of Dolorespata which would accommodate the kids during the opening hours. With the compromise of improving the infrastructure which was extremely basic (no electricity or washrooms) since no rent was incurred, Luisa and her colleagues worked hard in the hope that one day they will be able to buy their own local.

During the month of October 2004, the charity moved to another close by local where this time light and washroom amenities could be installed and built. Also, thanks to foreign volunteers, who temporarily help at San Nicolas Urraca, the local was finally equipped with some tables, chairs and games for the children. Nevertheless, in November 2005, the mayor of the Dolorespata required that Luisa and the charity move out of the local. Therefore, with the help of past volunteers, Luisa started a fundraising campaign in the hope of raising enough money to buy a local. Unfortunately the campaign was unsuccessful due to too few contacts and Luisa had to negotiate to keep the local for another five years when she will need to have found a new local. Today, Luisa tries her best to gather just enough money each month to buy necessary equipment and pay the bills in order not to go back to the streets.

In the future

Luisa has already accomplished a lot for “her” kids since the project started from scratch a little over four years ago. Each Christmas she was able to organize a nice party for the kids where each kid would receive something to eat and a small present. Nevertheless, in the short run and longer run, Luisa still has many projects and ambitions. One of her goals would be to be able to offer each day a small snack for the kids. This objective is already well on its way. In comparison to four years ago when the association could not even afford occasional drinks, today the kids receive some food (rice pudding, pasta, or milk) about twice a week!

One of her longer run goal and dream would be to open the doors of San Nicolas Urraca to abused women and abandoned elderly people who are numerous in the streets of Cusco. A couple of months ago she has already attempted to achieve this objective with about ten women but unfortunately due to insufficient funds to buy the material to knit sweaters the experience was halted.

In the past fours years San Nicolas Urraca has accomplished a lot for the kids from Dolorespata and volunteers who have returned to visit the project after a few years have been able to witness the amazing changes! However, with the help of new volunteers, San Nicolas is meant to grow even more!

* The various pictures show you the different improvement the volunteers have been doing for the association and the well-being of the children (the patio, the tables...).



To go to the association :
San Nicolas Urraca (in Dolorespata,Cusco)
Avenidad Jorge Luis Navarrete

You can take a taxi (3 soles) : ask the driver to go to Dolorespata, Avenidad Jorge Luis Navarrete (the taxi drivers usually know the small park which is located on the same avenue; the association is just a few meters away).

Or, you can take the bus (50 cents of Soles) from the center and get down in Dolorespata - Avenidad Jorge Luis Navarrete. Walk down Avenidad del Sol till you see the big Post Office on your right side. Turn left on the small street at the corner and take the bus #21.
You can also catch the same bus at the end of the street named Almagro/beginning of the street called Qera (near Avenidad del Sol also). With the bus, you will arrived to the association approximately after 20 minutes of travel : go down in Dolorespata (ask someone on the bus where to exit in Avenidad Naverrete, near the park).The association is painted yellow and purple (see profile picture) so you will not miss it !